When the ancient Polynesians invented surfing, they often used a paddle to help them navigate. Fast-forward a few millennia, and Stand-Up Paddleboarding, or SUP, finds itself trendy again. Part of its increasing popularity is that standing upright allows surfers to spot waves more easily and thus catch more of them, multiplying the fun factor. Paddling back to the wave becomes less of a strain as well. The ability to cruise along on flat inland water, surveying the sights, is another advantage. Finally, its a good core workout. If youre sold on the idea, schedule an intro SUP lesson, free with board and paddle rental, and you may find yourself riding the waves like a Polynesian king.More

Many of us remember coming home from our elementary schools with freshly glazed pinchpots, cups, or whatever else our young imaginations could conjure up. Saturday mornings at the Randall Museum can bring that memory back, or create a new one for the youngsters. Ceramics make great gifts — especially on Mothers' and Fathers' Day. Hop on board for the Randall's once-weekly class, and for $6 and two weeks to have your work fired and glazed, you'll have all the materials you need.More

Specifically, the results, which landed in the laps of t BART board members last week, indicated that riders felt the stations were becoming dirtier and the trains were becoming more packed with people.

“The survey results echo what is already clear: our success in ridership growth is also our challenge,” says Board President Tom Blalock. “BART trains and stations are more crowded than ever before during peak commute periods, and we are proactively working to add capacity and address cleanliness.”

The survey showed that customers’ perception of seat availability has fallen by 8.5 percent since the previous survey conducted in 2012 (and bringing their own chair hasn't helped). What's more, riders complained that the train stations have gotten dirtier over the years. Despite this dip in the survey results, 74 percent of riders were overall satisfied with the train service and 89 percent said they would recommend BART to a friend or out-of-town guest.

As for the dirty stations and hard-to-find seats on trains, all this is being addressed ASAP, BART officials say. For starters, the transit agency is finishing up some train rehab projects now that will put more cars in service by July. Also, BART is making room on the on the busy Pittsburg/Bay Point to run more 10-car trains during peak commute hours. That should be happening next month.

In the longer term, BART hoes to expand its fleet from 775 rail cars to more than 1,000 as well as increase maintenance hours at several BART shops.

You might not have taken note, but BART is trying to give some stations a deep-cleaning on a more regular basis. The transit agency last year shelled out some big bucks for a new "brightening crew" which is exactly what it sounds like: happy workers providing water pressure cleanses and heat treatments to nasty stairwells and station entrances.

According to the survey, commuters were also pretty upset about how stuffy and hot it gets inside the trains. "To address uncomfortable temperatures, BART is upgrading the air conditioning systems on the most problematic cars and replacing failed electrical controls," BART officials say.

What is news: Probably for the first time ever, commuters didn't complain of the infamous wool seats which have been well-documented as breeding grounds for all things gross. That's because the transit agency stripped the BART cars of those difficult-to-clean seats last year and replaced them with the new easy-to-clean vinyl seats.

And finally, all the BART carpets will be replaced with hard surfaces by mid-summer. Follow @sfweekly

Like us on Facebook

Slideshows

Sub Pop recording artists 'clipping.' brought their brand of noise-driven experimental hip hop to the closing night of 2016's San Francisco Electronic Music Fest this past Sunday. The packed Brava Theater hosted an initially seated crowd that ended the night jumping and dancing against the front of the stage. The trio performed a set focused on their recently released Sci-Fi Horror concept album, 'Splendor & Misery', then delved into their dancier and more aggressive back catalogue, and recent single 'Wriggle'.
Opening performances included local experimental electronic duo 'Tujurikkuja' and computer music artist 'Madalyn Merkey.'"